If you are in the middle of researching how to plant a herb garden and want top tips – you’re in the right place!
Why are herb gardens so great?
Many moons ago, people used to have small bushels of herbs in their gardens, know what they did, and how to use them – and not just in cooking. Over time grocery stores started supplying more herb options, and the art of excellent herb gardening has slowly decreased.
So why are herb gardens great, and why do you need one?
As hobbies go, gardening is one of the best for mental health, and herb gardens are a very relaxed version of gardening.
- You can grow exotic varieties you can’t get in your local stores.
- They’re beautiful and fragrant.
- There is more than meets the eye; you can cook with them, drink them in tea and even make cosmetics and skincare products!
- Growing herbs is significantly cheaper than buying small bundles in the supermarket.
- You’ll never have a dull dinner again.
- Herbs from the garden are the freshest you’ll get!
What are the benefits of growing your herbs?
In the fight against food waste, growing your fruits, veggies, and herbs is one of the biggest things you can do. It’s a sustainable option that gives you access to fresh, healthy, delicious herbs without adding to your carbon footprint. Growing a herb garden will give back to your local ecosystem too.
We often think of herbs as something we add to our meals to make them more delicious, but there is a long track record of how herbs can help with things like stress, sleeplessness, and even stomach issues.
One of the most significant benefits of growing your herbs is having access to fresh herbs all year – since they go straight from the ground to the plate, they are the freshest you’ll get and delicious too!
Do I need a lot of space for a herb garden?
All you need to keep in mind for your herb garden is you need four things:
Between 4-6 hours of sunlight
- Soils that drain well
- Planting them correctly
- Harvesting them regularly
If you don’t have a large backyard, herbs are just as happy in containers. In the case of container growing, give the herb at least 8 inches of room to grow, be sure to have the right fertilizer in the pots, and group herbs together that need the same amount of sunlight.
To harvest your herbs, you’ll need to cut down about a third of the branches when the plant reaches 6-8 inches in height. Cutting close to a leaf intersection will see more growth coming in quickly.
When planting herbs in small garden spaces, marjoram, mint, oregano, sage, and rosemary will need around three to four feet of space. While basil, thyme, savory, and tarragon will need two feet. Great options for tight spaces are dill, parsley, chives, and cilantro – these guys are happy with just one foot of space.
Need a little help choosing the right herbs for your space? Get in touch: Begin your Kitchen GARDEN From Scratch with a Consultation.
Can I plant herbs with other flowers?
Mixing veggies, herbs, and flowers is a common practice called companion planting. Companion planting offers benefits to every plant within that growing area. Some herbs will keep pests off your flowers, while others will benefit from more regular visits for pollinators.
Are there benefits to companion planting with herbs?
Yes! There are a couple of benefits that you should know about that might come as a surprise.
Pollinators
Planting herbs and flowers together is a great idea. Add fragrant herbs like thyme and mint with less aromatic herbs. Veggies don’t always have big flowers to draw pollinators. Sweet peas, zinnia, and sunflowers are perfect for companion planting.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is essential to create a sustainable, thriving garden. The concept of biodiversity is to have a species-rich garden or set of containers. It will attract wildlife and insects—local natural ingredients such as fall leaves, coffee grounds, and chicken manure.
Beneficial insects
For many new gardeners, all insects are considered a pest – but many beneficial insects will flock to your garden when you companion plant. Ladybugs, parasitic wasps (despite the name!), ground beetles, and lacewings should all be welcome.
Plant dill, parsley, and cilantro to entice these little beasts into your herb garden. Why do you want these insects? They’ll eat and deter all of the natural pests!
Repellants
If you are having issues with insects eating up your herbs before you get to harvest them, here are a couple of plants to repel them:
Sage to repel carrot rust slides and cabbage moths
- Geraniums to repel Japanese beetles
- Borage to shoo away tomato hornworm
- Catmint repels many insects, including squash bugs, aphids, and colorado potato beetles
- Pot marigolds can ward off asparagus beetles
What is the best time to plant herbs?
Annual and biennial herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, and basil can be planted from seed yearly between March and August. After they flower, they drop seed, so if tended to well will give you a great patch of herbs. Biennial herbs can be harvested at the start of their second year. Annuals can stand a bit of frost.
Perennials like thyme, sage, and rosemary are best sewn under a cover or indoors and transplanted when hardening up – planting ahead of frost is best. Tender perennials will often need to be replaced every few years for the best flavors.
Be sure to have some of either kind in your home on a bright windowsill – so you’ll never be without homegrown herbs.
Besides cooking with herbs, what else can I do with them?
We all know that sprinkling rosemary on lamb or topping your carrot soup with cilantro is delicious. But there are plenty of other things you can do with your herbs. Herbs used to be used for medicine and spiritual practices, so let’s look at some fascinating things to do with your herbs!
Here are different ways that you can use herbs apart from cooking.
A herbal poultice
Make a pulp from herbs to spread on the skin and hold on with a large leaf, cheesecloth, or a muslin. There are a couple of herbs that come highly recommended, but here are some others you can use (keep in mind you should research and check that what you make is safe to use!):
Aloe vera
- Garlic
- Turmeric
- Dandelions
- Chamomile
- Oregano
Anxiety
The smell of certain herbs is enough to help reduce anxiety and keep you cool and calm. Lavender is one of the best, but lemon balm, chamomile, saffron, and black cohosh come highly recommended.
Hydrosol perfume
If you adore the scent of herbs, you can mix your favorites to create a unique scent. When you make a herb perfume, it is called hydrosol, which means you have simmered fresh herbs and flowers in water for a while – collected the steam packed with oils – and bottled it.
To make hydrosol perfume:
Choose herbs and flowers you like
- Add all the herbs to a large pan and a heatproof cup or bowl in the middle.
- Add water to the pan.
- Place the lid of the pan upside down so that the handle sits in the bowl in the pan.
- Place a bag of ice on top of the lid.
- Simmer for 30 minutes, replacing the ice as you go.
- The steam will drip into the bowl in the middle so you can collect your oils and scents.
- Remove from the heat, let cool, remove the bowl from the center, and pour into a colored glass spray bottle.
It’s best stored in the fridge!
Body oil
Infuse your favorite herbs in oil for a luxury body oil or hydrating hair oil. You can use olive oil, vitamin e oil, or coconut oil. Pick, pluck, rinse your herbs, and infuse your oil. Simple!
Dryer sheets
Do you love when your clothing smells light outside and rich in herbs? Who doesn’t? Get hold of some quarters of fabric, or cut up an old pillow case, fill them with dried lavender, rosemary, or even lemon balm, and sew them closed. You can even add in lilac and jasmine! Pop them in every time you use the dryer on low heat. Or use them in drawers.
A herb garden is a beautiful addition to any garden or kitchen window!
